Review Writing Questions

[DaveMage]

Well, you have three reviewers, and a writer telling you the same thing. In my experience almost any lengthy mention of another product in a review by way of comparison makes the book being reviewed look really bad.

I think about as far as you should go would be to say "I also reviewed a product with similar goals and the review can be found here [link]".

A review is one place each product should stand alone and be judged on its own merits.

Chuck

Do you think a brief mention of another product is ok?

From this review reader's perspective, I want to know what product(s) to buy. If a reviewer gives a 5-star rating to two products that cover similar topics, that's great, but it doesn't tell me which one they preferred (and why) unless they say so.

However, if a reviewer doesn't want to do this "in review", I really like Crothian's suggestion about asking such comparitive questions in the comments section. I can live with that.

 

[Psion]

Do you think a brief mention of another product is ok?

I certainly think it gives value to the customer to convey some of what you know about how it stands in relation to similar products. Otherwise, what perspective do you have? It's almost the most valid perspective there is. For example, when talking cost, saying that $40 or $60 or $80 is expensive is a rather subjective matter, one that has drawn pages and pages of debate. But when comparing it to a product of similar page count, topic, and format, it becomes a lot easier to say a product is expensive or cheap by way of comparison and have it say something meaningful.

I would love to see a cross-grain comparison of the 8 or more major seafaring products out there that tells me which ones are most expedient for running a seafaring game... or for that matter, mass combat systems, etc. Unfortunately, in depth knowledge of that many products to the point that you could make valid comparisons and have the time to express them in a way that is meaningful to a would be purchaser is difficult to come by.

 

[Man-thing]

I am comfortable saying, I would use X and combine it from elements in product y.

But never say Y does a better job than X. (At least, I hope I never have.)

If I think Y is a better book, I will review it seperately with or without a reviewer copy.

 

[Voadam]

Some more advice taken from one of my high school teachers advice on writing essays.

Show, don't tell.

Telling is just making a judgment or general description. "The monsters here are poorly done."

Showing demonstrates why the judgment is made "The monsters are poorly done. There are disconnects between mechanics and descriptions, poorly implemented mechanics, and mechanics that make no sense. For instance they have a demon lord of warfare who is described as a master melee combat reveler but he only has 2HD, cast spells as high level sorcerer, the weak melee attack bonuses are significantly off, and two of his major powers are undefined."

So start with a thesis statement (opinion/assertion) then follow up with supporting concrete reasons/facts.

 

[Vigilance]

I would love to see a cross-grain comparison of the 8 or more major seafaring products out there that tells me which ones are most expedient for running a seafaring game... or for that matter, mass combat systems, etc. Unfortunately, in depth knowledge of that many products to the point that you could make valid comparisons and have the time to express them in a way that is meaningful to a would be purchaser is difficult to come by.

I would like to see this as well.

Im just not sure that a review is the proper place for it.

I think the one of the problems I have with turning all reviews into comparisons is the idea that there is ONE ideal product on each topic.

I think it is possible for two books on exactly the same subject to both rate a 5 star review. In that case, Id say someone wanting to run a campaign using the topic of those books would be best served buying both.

Again, I think there are places for comparison, and places for those comparisons to be talked about. But I dont think it's a review.

I think a review is ONE place where a product should be treated almost in a vacuum, on its own merits.

Let's be honest, the marketplace puts all products in competition. Everyone has companies and writers that they trust. Everyone has reviewers they trust, or reads a review that piques their interest. Everyone has a target price range. In the end a lot of things will go into any decision to buy or not buy.

Chuck

 

[Voadam]

Comparisons are valid in a review.

Saying Oathbound draws in characters and NPCs from various worlds similar to how Ravenloft does is useful information.

Saying the AU heavy warrior class (forget the name) is like a better fighter only with some of the feats prechosen is a useful description.

So would comparing the Path of Faith spontaneous cleric variant versus favored souls and the Unearthed Arcana versions.

There are or were a few reviews comparing FFG's seafaring handbook, Mongoose's Seas of Blood, and Living Imagination's Broadsides that I found very useful as a reader. Same for one analyzing Mongoose's Divine Encyclopedia shaman book and Green Ronin's Shaman Handbook.

Relevant comparisons or references can be useful to a review reader.

 

[Man-thing]

I would love to see a cross-grain comparison of the 8 or more major seafaring products out there that tells me which ones are most expedient for running a seafaring game... or for that matter, mass combat systems, etc. Unfortunately, in depth knowledge of that many products to the point that you could make valid comparisons and have the time to express them in a way that is meaningful to a would be purchaser is difficult to come by.

This strikes me as doable as a multi-reviewer project, if such a thing could be organized.

1) Make a list of theme related books.
2) poll EnWorld for "common things people want a book on X" to do.
3) List is finalized to 5 to 8 main topics
4) Each reviewer takes 1 book and the list of goals and sees how well thier book does.
5) All reviews on topic X posted on the same day for comparison or combined into a summary review.

 

[HellHound]

This thread has been great. I've gone through my review for A Game Of Thrones and added two paragraphs to it, as well as another two dozen sentences here and there through the review where appropriate.

I've added mention as to why I (love/hate/enjoy/dislike) the book, what I would use from it in other games. I've also made sure (as I always do) that the description of the contents is specifically what I like or dislike about them, or what stands out in comparison to other books, instead of just a list of what is inside. Oh, and I also took Whizbang Dustyboots' advice, and added an intor about what the book IS. I realized that I had managed to skip that, and it is pretty central to the review, as it is a full RPG, not a supplement to an existing RPG.

however,

And please, unless you're doing errata, brevity is your friend!

I'm very conversational in my review, and witha 500 page book, brevity means barely mentioning what each part of the book is about, let alone discussing it at any depth. So far, my review is 2800 words, and I don't intend to post it until Dextra has had a chance to add her comments to it from our playtest game.

 

[Psion]

I think the one of the problems I have with turning all reviews into comparisons is the idea that there is ONE ideal product on each topic.

I don't see that implication at all.

I think that one product may be the best for a given person's expectations and needs. All products have strong and weak points.

 

[HellHound]

My problem now is that, indeed, my review feels too long. I need to figure out where to break it up with subheaders, I figure, to make it more easily read and digested.

here's the review for now, until A Game of Thrones is added to the ENWorld Reviews database: http://www.dreadgazebo.com/index.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=2